Title: Silent Hill - A Novelization

Author: Ayame

Disclaimer: Konami holds complete possession of Silent Hill, it's Characters, and its riveting storyline. I only put it in words.

Rating: R

Summary: Exactly what the title says this is. A novelization of the PSX game, Silent Hill. There are probably a couple of versions of Silent Hill out there. This is just my interpretation of it.

Silent Hill : A Novelization

~wings of fear~

The fear of blood tends to create the fear for flesh.

~Prelude

A small sigh escaped her lips as she listened to the sound of the telephone ringing. It was a sigh of anxious worry. Her fingertips lightly brushed the first smooth manila envelope of several containing the files she needed on the desk near the telephone. She pressed her lips together, holding the receiver of the phone so tightly she could feel her knuckles turning white. Answer… her thoughts came with the desperate feeling of being trapped. The hollow sound of ringing seemed too far away, muted, even though the sound was right beside her ear. She stood alone in the darkened office, her back to the door. Across the room, she could make out the silhouette of a small sofa and an end table near a small bookshelf. The large window above the quarter-sized bookshelf and sofa gave way small amounts of light through the venation blinds from the street lamps off the main road. Her heart skipped a beat as her call was answered.

"Brahms Police Department - Investigations Detective Bureau." The voice of a young man sounded as distant and hollow as the telephone ringing had been. Why did it sound like that…? She wondered briefly. Her mind raced, trying to giver her some possible solutions. Tapped? She shook her head at that thought. Definitely not. This was a hospital, for heaven sakes. Despite who the director was, the office she was in belonged to someone who wouldn't have the slightest hint as to what had been going on behind the scenes here. "Hello?" The voice sounded again, this time rather impatient. She licked her dry lips and clutched the telephone tightly. Her voice was shaky and quiet when she finally spoke.

"Hello… I- I have information for you about the dealings in Silent Hill…" She held her breath as she waited for a response. There was a small pause.

"Where are you based, miss?"

"I'm in Silent Hill." A small clicking sound came from behind her. With a small gasp, she half-turned and looked toward the door, praying that no one was coming in. No one entered, but she watched the door wearily. The pause on the other end of the receiver was quite long and she was sure they were debating on the credibility of the call. She had to do something. Her eyes darted along the outline of the door, where light spilled through the cracks. She had to do it fast. "Please. I've first hand information. I…" she hesitated momentarily. "I was involved…" her voice trailed off, trying to think of how to explain this without giving too much detail over the phone, but she didn't need to after he began to speak again.

"Alright. Ma'am, we need you to go to the Silent Hill Police Department so they can-"

"No!" She cut the officer off abruptly, then regained her composure and lowered her voice. She watched the door for a while, hoping that had anyone been in the office, they would not have heard her. Taking in a quivering breath, she turned to the window once again and closed her eyes, her pulse racing. "I can't do that. I need to give my information directly to the police at…" her voice trailed off once again. The sound behind her was too distinct. The clearing of a throat. Her eyes fluttered open to see the light from the hallway spilling through the door behind her and across the desk she stood at. She pressed her lips together. She could hear the young man speaking to her, but he couldn't help her now. She lowered the receiver and placed it back in its holder. Her means of freedom gone.

"And just who might be important enough for you to call after office hours and in secret, Miss Garland?"

She turned around slowly, facing the man who owned that deep voice that had spoke only moments ago. He leaned against the doorway of the office casually, watching her movements. His expression was somber. His crisp gray suit and dark hair added menace to the shadows that played over his angular features. He knew exactly what she had been doing. And she knew what the consequences would be now that she had been caught.

She didn't bother to answer him. Instead, she glared at him as she made her way to the doorway, despite the distinct feeling of fear trickling down the back of her throat. Her heart pounded, making it difficult to breath, and a headache had begun to form behind her eyes. And although it wasn't likely to happen, she knew she had to escape. Too much depended on her knowledge of this place. Her passage through the door, however, was blocked as he put an arm up against the doorframe.

"The police won't help you, you know." His deep voice held what might have been ridicule, had he been one to joke. She met his steady gaze with one of her own, defiance sparkled in her eyes.

"You're right. The Silent Hill Police Department wouldn't help me, would they?" Shoving his arm away from the doorframe, she moved past him and proceeded down the hallway at a brisk pace. He'd be after her soon enough.

Kauffmann crossed his arms as he watched her leave. She was in a hurry and wanted out. They were in the Western section of the hospital where all of the offices were based. He'd let her go giving her the false hope of escaping, but she wouldn't get far after that phone call. The police would stop her before she made it out of town. It was too bad she had to meet the fate waiting for her. She'd been very useful. He watched her silhouette continue down the hallway, past some of the closed doors on the right, and the receptionist desk on the left. He didn't need to worry about anyone coming out of those doors since it was well past the time that the offices of the hospital were closed. He smiled a bit at the pace she was going. She moved so quickly that the papers stacked on the desk to her left fluttered a bit, and the vase of roses next to those papers lost some of their petals. He could almost see the fear rising from her. Then a thought occurred to him that made his smile fade. The Silent Hill Police Department wouldn't help me, would they? His eyes darkened. She'd called Brahms.

"Lisa!" His voice boomed down the empty and silent hallway. He pushed himself away from the door and marched after her. She picked up her speed, but he was much faster. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. With a glare, she yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"You're not stopping me this time, Michael! Nothing is! What you and that woman are doing to her is wrong! And I won't be part of it any longer!" With that she turned to flee, but he grabbed her arm again. The force at which his fingers closed around her bicep was painful, making her wince. A small cry of alarm rose from her throat as he pulled her to a stop again.

"You think you can just walk out on it, then? Well, you're thinking wrong." His voice held a deadly edge as he brought his arm around her throat. Struggling, she lashed out behind her, her fingernails digging into his face, causing him to release her. Gasping for breath, she fell to her knees, but sprang to her feet again, supporting herself by the desk. Kauffmann growled, ignoring the blood she'd drawn and lunged for her again. Lisa's scream was cut short by his choking grip as he pushed her against the desk, leaning down on her with incredible force. Her mouth opened, trying to catch a breath of air, but his hands were preventing it. Her mind scrambled, wishing that there had been somebody in the offices that would have heard her shriek of horror and come to help her. But her wishing was only a false hope. Desperately, she reached for anything she could get her hands on to protect herself with. Vaguely, she could hear the files on the desk hitting the floor on the other side with an angry, menacing clatter. Her light brown eyes were locked on Kauffmann's and her vision began to cloud over when her fingertips touched something cool and smooth.

Wrapping her hand around the vase, she brought it up, smashing it against his skull. The force and impact sent him sprawling. Coughing violently and gasping for the much-needed air, she could feel her eyes stinging. She slid to the pale green glossy floor, her hand resting on her collarbone. Kauffmann lie only a few feet away, glass littered around him, a small pool of blood forming next to his head. Lisa slowly got to her feet, still coughing while watching his motionless form. Her eyes slowly slid to the green linoleum and trailed down the length of the hallway to the glass doors that led to freedom. Without a backwards glance, she took off at a run.

The midnight air felt cool against her skin and like a blessing against her burning throat. Her car was easy to spot in the nearly empty parking lot. She stopped briefly, noting Kauffmann's vehicle parked right next to her own. Her skin crawled as she sprinted toward the cars and came to a halt at the passenger side of hers and peered through the window. Her nerves settled almost immediately. The small baby wrapped up in a snug little bundle was still sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat. Glancing over her shoulder to the doors of Alchemilla, she bit her lower lip and moved around to the driver's side, then cursed. The man had parked so close to her car, she wouldn't be able to get in. Her gaze drifted toward the hospital again. The three-story building looked dark and ominous. Light spilled from the windows with an eerie glow. A chill crept up her spine. Moving back around to the passenger side, she pulled her keys from the red sweater pocket and unlocked the door. Crawling inside, mindful of the sleeping infant, she settled herself into the driver's seat before leaning over and closing the door. She felt herself relaxing a little as the engine roared to life. Glancing once again at the hospital she pulled out of the parking lot. She wasn't out of hot water yet. Not until she reached the highway.

The streets were nearly empty, despite the fact that it was the resort district of the town, and therefore the area where most tourists would settle. Pushing that to the back of her mind, she smoothed back stray strands of her reddish-brown hair behind her ear and concentrated on her drive to Brahms. It wouldn't take long, but it felt like she'd be driving for miles after reaching the outskirts of the small city. The road stretched on ahead of her, narrowing as it vanished into the horizon. Tumbleweed sluggishly inched across the empty highway, as though being tugged by an invisible string. Beside her, the baby in the passenger seat stirred awake, making tiny noises. Reaching over, she pulled the blankets tighter around the small child as her mind raced through what she would present to the police in Brahms. A startled gasp escaped her lips as she pulled the car to a sudden stop, holding the baby in place, despite the seatbelt, so as to prevent it from falling. Leaning her head against the steering wheel, anxiety rose from her stomach.

"I left the files…" her whisper cut through the silence of the deserted highway. Are they really that important, Lisa? The thought cut through her mind like a sharp razor. Are you willing to die for the information contained in those files? "But… it's the only proof I have…" her barely audible whisper answered the nagging chant in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip. There was no way that she would take the baby back… And if she went back, there was no guarantee she'd make it out again. Taking in a deep breath she got out of her vehicle and moved to the passenger side, taking the baby from the warmth of the car. Holding the infant in her arms, she looked up and down the highway, now realizing where she was. She was near an old, run-down graveyard, just outside of Silent Hill.

Her mind made up, she moved off the road and stepped carefully over the broken wooden planks that had at one time served as a fence. Her heart pounded in her throat. This could be a double-edged sword. If she didn't come back, then would anyone be able to spot the child from the road? If she didn't return and the ones who were after the child figured she'd gotten this far, would they see the baby? A chill crept up her spine. But they didn't know she had the baby yet…

"Oh, God…" Lisa's whisper cut into the silence of the lonely highway. "Please… please keep her safe until I return. Please." Squeezing her eyes shut, she held onto the infant, listening to the soft sounds it made as it wiggled in her arms. Planting a tender kiss on the baby's cheek, she set the child on the grass, just out of sight of the road, she tucked the blankets tighter around the infant. "Please be safe." Moving back onto the road, she started up her car again and turned back toward the lovely little resort town of Silent Hill.

Pulling into the parking of Alchemilla Hospital, Lisa took note that Kauffmann's vehicle was still where it was when she left. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel in a painful grip as warning tendrils of apprehension curled at the base of her stomach. Taking in a shaky breath, her eyes darted quickly around the expansive parking lot before she stepped out of the vehicle and onto the black pavement. The entrance to the hospital glowed eerily with a pale green light. It was as thought they were beckoning her inside… into a world that she wouldn't escape. Lisa shook her head. That was ridiculous… wasn't it?

It was the way the fluorescent lights reflected off the chartreuse colored linoleum and bounced off the walls that had made the doorway look so supernatural from the view of the parking lot. That was the first thing she'd noticed when she stepped through the double-paned glass doors of the hospital. The second, was the fact that Michael Kauffmann was no longer lying on the floor near the receptionist desk. A chill crept up her spine as her senses became all the more enhanced. Broken shards of the glass vase littered the floor, reflecting the light from the ceiling, making the blood that it lie in sparkle like a broken bottle of metallic colored nail-polish. A moment of dizziness swept over the young nurse as she pushed the glass doors closed. She kept her eyes trained on the bloody mess near the desk. That was all the blood there was. There was no trail leading away from it… She had no idea where Kauffmann could have gone now.

Gathering her courage, she moved slowly and quietly down the center of the hallway. The distinct smell that hospitals were correlated with wafted through the air; the sterile scent of medicines and machinery… and sometimes that unnerving stench of death and disease… Running her tongue over her dry lips, she made sure not to step into the blood as she passed over it, her brown eyes darting along the hallway and behind her, watching for any signs of the hospital's director. She got to the room she had started out in rather quickly. The door was slightly ajar, but not to much. Her heart began to pound as she pushed her way though the entrance. Had the door been almost closed when she had left? she wondered. For a moment, she felt as though she were suffocating in the darkness of the office and the street lamps just outside didn't seem to do much to illuminate it through the blinds covering the window, as they had earlier. A feeling of impending doom crept across her stomach and her breathing became strained as fear chilled her senses. If Kauffmann did happen to take a stroll down the hallway, he could trap her in this room rather easily. Shaking her head, she moved toward the desk to get the files and then run. Her eyes roamed over the dark oak surface near the telephone before her jaw fell open slightly, her breath caught in her throat, and her movements froze. They were gone.

The door clicked closed behind her. Lisa squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress the tears that had formed there. She was trapped. He was standing behind her, she knew, and she wasn't going to leave this office alive. She turned around slowly, her movements more listless than they had been before; the movements of someone about to meet death. He watched her, his expression touching a sinister tranquility, a line of blood sliding down his temple. She could see that much from the lights outside. He cracked a smile and held up the files, the top one labeled 'CONFIDENTIAL' seemed to mock her in bold red lettering.

"Did you forget something, Miss Garland?" His deep voice was more threatening than it had been before. He advanced at a meandering pace, watching as she retreated, like a predator ready to take down its prey… a predator with all the time in the world. Lisa shook her head, bringing her hands up to her mouth. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod… The words passed through her head like a chant. She wasn't going to make it out of here. That much she knew. But… the baby needs me! Please, God… But pleading with divine forces was of no use. Kauffmann set down the files and advanced even more quickly. His smile was cruel. "What makes you think you could have gotten away with this?" He put an hand on either side of her head, leaning toward her. She was beautiful, especially when frightened. Her eyes held the unmistakable look of panic and doom. He felt empowered. "Did you think that without you, we'd stop?"

"I just want you to stop hurting her…" her whisper trailed off. It quivered when she spoke. She couldn't hold onto her defiance any longer. Slowly, Michael trailed his knuckles down her cheek and chin before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a syringe. With a flick of his thumb, the cap popped off, the metallic spark of the needle catching a bit of the light from outside. He held it up in front of her, ejecting some of the liquid into the air, his eyes dancing wickedly.

"It seems that you're usefulness and purpose has run out. How shall I kill you, Lisa? Quick and mercifully, or slowly and painfully?" The words pounded into her like a hammer hitting a nail. With a gasp and a shriek she shoved at him. She would go down. She knew she would not escape this time. But she'd be damned if she would go down with out putting up a fight. She ran for the door, but didn't make it. The struggle began. The dance of death. The one-sided dance where Fate was not kind enough to let the heroine survive.